A microcontroller unit (MCU) is small computer formed on an integrated circuit. MCUs provide embedded control of a wide range of devices, such as display devices, electric motors, voltage regulators, office machines, appliances, implantable medical devices, and the like.
MCUs are often used to provide graphics applications and control graphical displays. The settings in which graphical displays are implemented are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Along with the proliferation of graphical displays, an increase is being seen in the complexity and functionality of the graphical displays. Various challenges are associated with providing graphics applications. For example, graphics applications typically require relatively large amounts of data, which use large amounts of memory, and the on-chip memory of an MCU is typically relatively small. Also, large amounts of bandwidth are sometimes used to transfer the large amounts of data, and bandwidth availability for MCUs is typically relatively limited. Various techniques are employed to reduce the memory and bandwidth consumed by graphics applications. For example, off-chip memory can be used to store data for graphics applications. However, adding off-chip memory increases the complexity and cost of control systems. Given the challenges associated with providing graphics applications, mechanisms are desired to reduce the memory used for data associated with graphics applications.